Chapter 235 My Man Has Been a Bit Disobedient Recently
"No need," William looked away and returned his attention to the menu.
Thalia propped her chin up and started talking: "The Mitchell family wishes. They didn't do well abroad, so now they think they can come back and develop here. They should think about how disgusting the things they did back then were. When the tree is good, they enjoy the shade; when it's bad, they hide. Using people when needed and discarding them when not - this bridge-burning behavior works on their own family, so it works on others too. In other words, they even screw over their own people, so what do outsiders matter to them?"
"What goes around comes around. Karma will catch up with everyone eventually. No one can escape it."
While ordering food, Thalia kept commenting on the Mitchell family's past, her voice getting louder and louder, as if she wanted Eleanor to hear.
Eleanor had arranged to have dinner with a business partner today. She was a bit surprised when she first heard someone mention the Mitchell family. As she continued listening, she suddenly realized how familiar the voice sounded.
A shadow stretched from behind the screen, and Eleanor appeared before Thalia.
"Ms. Smith knows so much about my Mitchell family?"
Thalia rested her chin on her hand, smiling at Eleanor: "How could I not? We share the same dad!"
"I'm here discussing business. Am I bothering you? Should I leave?"
"Would you actually leave?"
"If this restaurant is yours, I'll leave."
Eleanor knew Thalia had been spoiled since childhood. When she wanted to put on an act, no one could do anything about it.
Plus, Thalia was a celebrity with a reputation as the entertainment industry's innocent sweetheart - a title she didn't earn for nothing.
Eleanor simply nodded at William in greeting and returned to her seat.
"Feel better now?"
"Yes," Thalia responded to William.
William poured her water: "Thalia, do you know what you're like right now?"
"You're like an unwilling child. You envy Eleanor."
Thalia's body, which had been leaning back against the chair, stiffened. It felt like something had struck the top of her head, with echoes reverberating: "What do I envy about her?"
"You envy that she doesn't need to please anyone, that she's always been herself, that she can work solely for her own interests in this materialistic world. But you're not like that. Everything you do is to please your dad, to stand out among his dozens of illegitimate children. Even until your dad died, you were still doing this."
Thalia didn't want to admit it, but it seemed she had to. This was indeed the case.
This was exactly how she was.
Since childhood, Grace had instilled in her the idea of pleasing Hayden, so regardless of her true feelings, her mouth could always produce humble, flattering words to deceive men. But it was one thing for her to be this way herself - it was different when William said it out loud.
So she pretended not to care and asked: "And then?"
Her forced strength was transparent to William in a second. Everyone has aspects they want to hide, good or bad - it's all the same. William chuckled softly: "Nothing. Let's eat first."
Thalia placed one hand on the table, her long nails tapping rhythmically on the surface. Her gaze on William carried scrutiny.
All her words stopped at his "let's eat first."
All her thoughts suddenly arose at his "let's eat first."
.........
"Didn't you say you wanted to rest and didn't want me to arrange work for you? Why are you actively asking for work now?"
Thalia lay on the couch in Layla's office, hands behind her head, looking at the ceiling: "My man has been a bit disobedient lately."
"Who? Which man?"
"How many men do I have?"
Layla hesitated before asking: "William?"
"Yes."
"Did Mr. Brown hurt your feelings? Or did he cheat? Are you trying to numb yourself with work because he's being disobedient?"
Thalia rolled her eyes at Layla: "What do you mean numb? I'm reducing the time I spend with him."
"Aren't you afraid Mr. Brown will see through your plan, drag you home, break your legs, and keep you locked up in his mansion at Mistwood Hill?"
Thalia, who had been lying on the couch, sat up and touched her thighs, saying impatiently: "Cut the nonsense."
"Scared?" Layla looked at her from her office chair.
Thalia stubbornly insisted: "Do I look like someone who gets scared?"
Layla: ........ "You're not. In that case, I'll contact the variety show. Your livestream with Gregory needs to be scheduled."
"When?"
"Their next livestream is Saturday."
"Saturday it is then."
.........
On Saturday, Gregory rearranged his filming schedule in advance. When the director's team heard he was participating in a variety show, they were very accommodating.
After all, having the leads appear together would bring publicity to the show. Plus, the last time Gregory and Thalia appeared together and people went crazy sending gifts, that incident was still being discussed online.
When Thalia got up at 4 AM, she woke William. William sat up in bed, eyes half-closed, his face dark with anger: "Going to record a variety show again?"
"Yes."
William seemed used to it. He sighed, took out a cigarette pack from the nightstand and lit one, trying to wake himself up.
Thalia washed her face and came out of the bathroom wiping water droplets, looking at William: "Be a good person and don't report me."
"And don't send me gifts. If you really have money, I'd be happier if you spent it on me directly. The money you spend on gifts doesn't go into my pocket."
William: .........
William didn't deny what Thalia said. He pulled over the ashtray and tapped his cigarette: "Just be smart and don't flirt with other men on the livestream."
"Going blind at such a young age, Mr. Brown - what will you do in the future?" Thalia walked over and touched William's face, sighing.
"Which celebrity doesn't have some scandals? Even if there really aren't any, fans will create some from time to time."
"Then don't be a celebrity. Come home and I'll take care of you."
"One of modern men's biggest lies: 'I'll take care of you.'"
Thalia didn't argue with William and went straight downstairs to the car.
Thalia leaned back in the rear seat with her eyes closed.
"Thalia, Mr. Brown is watching us from upstairs."
Thalia slowly opened her eyes, turned to look, and in the dim yellow night with dawn breaking at the horizon, casting a faint pink glow on the exterior walls of Maple Grove Villas, William stood in a robe, cigarette in hand, watching Thalia's van leave Maple Grove Villas.
From a distance, William's figure looked lonely and desolate.
Rather like the loneliness of someone unmatched in skill.
Only after the figure on the balcony disappeared did Thalia slowly look away: "How's the investigation I asked you to do going?"
"Not easy to investigate. After Mr. Brown made it big, he erased all traces of his past. The people around him who know about his early days are all old now, so it's hard to get information. Last night, to gather intel, Isla drank a lot with Dr. Anderson and only got a few words out of him. The gist is that Mr. Brown's biological mother is in the capital and has recently been trying to contact Mr. Brown through various channels. We don't know if the call you received that day was from Mr. Brown's biological mother."
"I know about this roughly," Thalia had vaguely heard people talk about William's biological mother. His mother didn't stay with Vaughn long - she left not long after giving birth to William.
As for why William's mother left, that was unknown.
Thalia took out a stack of sticky notes from beside the armrest, wrote down a number, and handed it to John: "Find a way to investigate. If you can't think of a way, go ask my mom."
John held the steering wheel with one hand and took the sticky note with the other, thinking: Women are really scary. After so many days, Thalia could still write out a number she'd only glanced at once.